Foldable Watercraft Table

ABSTRACT

A foldable watercraft table. The foldable watercraft tables provide a stable and level surface for watercraft enthusiasts to removably attach to a side of a watercraft. A board is connected by a plurality of second fasteners connected by a rod to a second end of the board and a plurality of first fasteners connected by a plurality of hinges to the first end of the board. The watercraft table is foldable by action of the hinges. The watercraft table supports food or beverage containers in an unfolded position within recesses positioned on the board.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/533,988 filed on Jul. 18, 2017. The above identified patent application is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety to provide continuity of disclosure.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a foldable watercraft table. Many people enjoy going on boats with their family and friends. While in a sand bar or floating in the water, some people may enjoy relaxing with a food or beverage item. Often, people have to climb out of the water in order to retrieve food and beverages. Constantly getting in and out of the water can be frustrating and inconvenient.

Current watercraft tables do disclose a surface wherein people can place food and beverages; however, these devices do not provide users with the ability to quickly and easily fold up the watercraft table. When the operator of a watercraft decides to relocate the watercraft, current devices require the user to entirely remove the watercraft table from the side of the watercraft and to reinstall the watercraft table once the watercraft has reached a new location. By solving this problem, watercraft enthusiasts will more easily be able to consume foods and beverages in the area surrounding their watercraft.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of watercraft tables now present in the known art, the present invention provides a watercraft table that can be deployed for use by individuals in the water around the watercraft that is easily foldable and does not need to be removed from a mounted position on the watercraft when the watercraft is moved.

The present system comprises a board having an upper surface of a lower surface. A plurality of cords extend from a second end of the board towards the first end of the board and are configured to be attached to a watercraft by a plurality of second fasteners. The second fasteners are connected to the second end of the board by a plurality of cords. A plurality of first fasteners are attached by a plurality of hinges to the proximate end of the board and configured to secure the proximate end of the board to the watercraft.

One object of the present invention is to provide a board wherein the board defines a plurality of recesses configured to receive a plurality of food or beverage containers.

In one embodiment, the first fasteners and the second fasteners are suction cups, configured to secure the watercraft table to the side of a watercraft.

Another object of the present invention is where the watercraft table is adapted to be movable between a folded and an unfolded position. The plurality of hinges operably connect the first fasteners to the board and are configured to enable a user to freely move the board between the folded and unfolded positions by a simple push towards the watercraft or pull away from the watercraft upon the second end of the board respectively.

In an additional embodiment of the invention, the board is lined on each of a plurality of sides by a bumper.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Although the characteristic features of this invention will be particularly pointed out in the claims, the invention itself and manner in which it may be made and used may be better understood after a review of the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein like numeral annotations are provided throughout.

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of the watercraft table.

FIG. 2 shows a top-down view of the watercraft table.

FIG. 3 shows a side view of the watercraft table in the unfolded position.

FIG. 4 shows a side view of the watercraft table in the folded position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference is made herein to the attached drawings. Like reference numerals are used throughout the drawings to depict like or similar elements of the watercraft table. The figures are intended for representative purposes only and should not be considered to be limiting in any respect.

Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a perspective view of the watercraft table. The watercraft table 10 is comprised of a board 11 having an upper surface 12 opposite of a lower surface. Furthermore, the board 11 has a first end 15 opposite of a second end 16, wherein the first end 15 lays parallel to and closest to a watercraft upon which the watercraft table is mounted in an unfolded position, as seen in FIG. 1. The second end 16 is the end laying parallel to and furthest from the watercraft upon which the watercraft table is mounted in a folded position, as seen in FIG. 3B.

The board 11 is attachable to a side of a watercraft by a plurality of fasteners, composed of first fasteners 13 and second fasteners 14. The first fasteners 13 are attached by a hinge to the first end 15 of the board 11. In one embodiment, the board 11 is planar. The second fasteners 14 are attached to the second end 16 of the board 11 by a plurality of cords 17. The second fasteners 14 and first fasteners 13 are configured to hold the watercraft table in a stable position upon a sidewall of the watercraft. In the shown embodiment, the first fasteners 13 and the second fasteners 14 are a plurality of suction cups.

The board 11 is made of a material adapted to frictionally support a plurality of objects on the upper surface 12 thereof. In one embodiment, the upper surface 12 comprises a gripping surface adapted to provide an increased friction coefficient wherein the plurality of objects may be more effectively secured thereon.

The second fasteners and first fasteners 14, 13 are a plurality of fasteners adapted to secure the watercraft table 10 to a sidewall of a watercraft (not shown). In this way, the watercraft table 10 extends outward therefrom, and is configured to be support food and beverage containers thereon and be accessible outside the confines of the watercraft.

In a further embodiment, the plurality of suction cups is controllable by an actuation of a lever. Under this embodiment, each suction cup of the plurality of suction cups is operably connected to a lever wherein the lever is configured to break a vacuum seal produced through a suction of the suction cup upon actuation of the lever.

In another embodiment, there are a plurality of recesses 18 defined in the upper surface 12. Each recess 18 of the plurality of recesses 18 is configured to receiveably secure a container such as a beverage container or a food container. In one embodiment, the recess 18 has an open lower end. In another embodiment, the recess has a base configured to provide structural support.

Referring now to FIG. 2, there is shown a top down view of the watercraft table. The first fasteners 13 are attached by a plurality of hinges 19 to the watercraft. The hinges 19 are adapted to enable a user to move the board 11 between the folded position and the unfolded position.

In the shown embodiment, a plurality of races 20 corresponding to the plurality of cords are disposed on the second end of the board. An end of each cord of the plurality of cords is securable in each of the races of the plurality of races.

Further in the shown embodiment, the board 11 has a plurality of bumpers 21 attached to a plurality of sides of the board 11. In a further embodiment, the bumpers 21 are made of a material adapted to absorb impacts thereon.

Referring now to FIGS. 3A-3B, there is shown a side view of the watercraft table in the unfolded position and folded position, respectively. The plurality of cords 17 are securable to the second end 16 of the board 11 by an interaction with the plurality of races 20. In one embodiment, the plurality of cords 17 are securable through the plurality of races 20 by a plurality of ferrules 22.

The watercraft table is movable between a folded position and an unfolded position. As shown in FIG. 3A, while in the unfolded position, the board 11 rests perpendicularly relative to a side of the watercraft to which the watercraft table is attached. The unfolded position is configured to enable the user to rest the plurality of objects on the upper surface of the board 11.

As shown in FIG. 3B, while in the folded position, the board 11 stands parallel relative to the side of the watercraft to which the watercraft table is attached. In one embodiment, the hinge 16 further comprises a lock configured to hold the board 11 in a parallel position once the board 11 is moved into the folded position by the user. The lock is adapted to prevent the board 11 from falling into the unfolded position from the folded position because of wind, boat movement, or some other movement-inducing force.

The hinges 16 enable the user to grasp any part of the board 11 and to freely move the board from the folded position to the unfolded position, or from the unfolded position to the folded position.

In a further embodiment, the plurality of cords 18 is a plurality of jointed rods. Each jointed rod of the plurality of jointed rods is comprised of a plurality of solid rods connected to each other by a rod fastener adapted to enable the jointed rods to bend when a user folds the watercraft table. Furthermore, under this embodiment, the jointed rods are configured to enable the user to slide a locking sleeve over the rod fastener to provide additional support for the watercraft table.

It is therefore submitted that the instant invention has been shown and described in various embodiments. It is recognized, however, that departures may be made within the scope of the invention and that obvious modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art. With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by the present invention.

Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention. 

1) A watercraft table, comprising: a board having a first end and a second end, the first end hingedly affixed to a first fastener; a cord coupled to a second fastener at a first end of the cord affixed to the second end of the board; each of the first fastener and the second fastener configured to removably secure the board to a support wall in a folded position and an unfolded position; wherein the board in the folded position is oriented parallel to the support wall; wherein the board in the unfolded position is oriented perpendicular to the support wall, the board configured to support objects thereon. 2) The watercraft table of claim 1, wherein an upper surface of the board has a recess configured to receive a food or beverage container. 3) The watercraft table of claim 1, wherein the fasteners are suction cups. 4) The watercraft table of claim 1, wherein the watercraft table is selectively configurable between a folded position and an unfolded position, wherein the folded position is engaged upon positioning the board parallel to the support wall and the unfolded position is engaged upon positioning the board perpendicular to the support wall. 5) The watercraft table of claim 1, further comprising a bumper disposed on at least one side of the board. 6) The watercraft table of claim 1, wherein the board is made of a material adapted to frictionally support to a plurality of objects on the upper surface thereof. 7) The watercraft table of claim 1, wherein the hinge is configured to hold the board in the folded position via a lock. 